INTERNATIONAL CORE

Univ Of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill NC

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

[unreadable] We are proposing to develop an International Core within the UNC CFAR (Core I), designed to support[unreadable] research, training, technology transfer and broad ethical considerations at sites in four countries which have[unreadable] been extensively involved with the UNC CFAR for many years: Malawi, Democratic Republic of the Congo[unreadable] (DRC), South Africa and the Peoples Republic of China. The addition of an International Core is an[unreadable] essential amplification of ongoing activities. Specific technical assistance/capacity building services, to be[unreadable] coordinated with other CFAR Cores, include assistance with: laboratory infrastructure; clinical database[unreadable] development; data analysis for article publication; grant writing, including intensive one-on-one tutorials for[unreadable] young investigators in CFAR collaborations; coordinating IRB approvals, consent form writing, navigating[unreadable] NIH regulations, and responding to questions about human subjects protections; and planning and[unreadable] coordinating international workshops.[unreadable] Core I will enhance coordination of information about ongoing international collaborations and the[unreadable] availability of training programs, and work to develop new collaborations/through the following services:[unreadable] maintain interactive information database about CFAR international research; assist UNC Fogarty AITRP[unreadable] and other training programs to identify international scholars for potential training; and assist community[unreadable] advisory boards in key collaborating countries to identify topics critical to the local community, and to[unreadable] disseminate research results through yearly in-country meetings.[unreadable] By directing world attention to underlying social and economic inequalities, the AIDS epidemic has also[unreadable] re-defined important aspects of the ethical conduct of research. For this reason, it is doubly important for the[unreadable] CFAR to address the moral as well as practical challenges that are often raised in international HIV/AIDS[unreadable] research. Bringing together resources at UNC and the CFAR partners, FHI and RTI, Core I will develop the[unreadable] CFAR Ethics Resource Service, with the following objectives: ensure that broader ethical issues are part of[unreadable] the ongoing discussion of international HIV/AIDS research, including offering training activities for UNC[unreadable] researchers; disseminate information, experience, and expertise in ethics so that CFAR researchers are[unreadable] aware of current conceptualizations and recommendations in these domains; respond to ethics and IRB[unreadable] questions from CFAR researchers and collaborators; assess ethics capacity building activities as defined by[unreadable] our collaborating researchers and institutions in Malawi, the DRC, South Africa, and China; and further[unreadable] develop and support an International Ethics Working Group which will foster both research and training[unreadable] activities at UNC and in partner countries.